Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Right-wing demonstrators marching through Arab neighborhoods to celebrate the unification of Jerusalem in an annual provocation known as "Jerusalem Day." They've been at this (under different regimes and names) since 1929, when Herut youths carried flags, chairs, and tables to the Western Wall and provoked a wave of riots across Palestine that killed hundreds of Jews and Arabs and wiped out the ancient Jewish community of Hebron/El Halil. Why do they do it? (See HERE.) Is it really that difficult to create public rituals that might bring Jews and Arabs together? Or commemorations that don't breed new hatred? Jerusalem should not be a breeding ground of hatred. How can we overcome this lack of imagination?